Written by Martin Hodgson
?I?m sure plenty of people will have a problem with it, but I built it for me not them,? say the bike’s builder. In the age of social media, everyone has an opinion on absolutely everything and if your work involves creative endeavour then chances are you’re copping twice as much abuse. But award-winning painter Kacey Elkins of Krossover Customs in Stanford, Kentucky is having none of it. He spends his days keeping his clients very happy, so when it came time for an after hours motorcycle project it was going to be built exactly to his own desires. Straight out of Bourbon country is Batch #44, a 1973 Yamaha RD350 Cafe Tracker with a rich, smoky flavour, Absinthe palate and raspy aural tones.

Despite the incredible custom that sits before you Kacey explains that while bikes are his passion, it’s not what he spends the majority of his working day doing at Krossover. ?I?m a custom painter and restoring cars is 90% of what I do, I also get to paint helmets here and there but my heart is always in motorcycles. My life has always had bikes in it from racing motocross, to Harleys on the street.? Now what his heart desired was a 2 stroke for the road and the best way to make it happen was to build the bike himself. All of which had to be done in his spare time while still giving his wife the attention she deserves. Could it look any lighter"
As luck would have it, the motorcycle Gods were looking down on Kacey and he’d make a...